Mariah Carey is what you could call divisive. Everyone has an opinion, even here in the UK where she has never enjoyed the level of success and genuine superstar status that she achieved around the world at her peak.
The contrast between her UK chart positions and sales figures is so marked that it's difficult to write about her for a UK audience because we don't have the same shared experience of her staggering career. She has had a good handful of hits here and two #1 singles, but consider this:
Mariah has released 14 studio albums, six of which were #1s in America. In the UK, only five of her albums have charted in the Top 5. In the US, her worst charting album was 2001's Glitter, which entered at #7 and, if we we're being charitable, we'd point out was a concept soundtrack album based on a flop film of the same name that had the misfortune of being released on September 11 2001. In the UK, her lowest charting album, 2002's Charmbracelet, missed the Top 40 entirely. It's a similar situation with her singles: 18 US #1s, yet only 13 of her 64 singles has charted in the Top 5 over here.
At no point in her career has this disparity been more apparent than her 1990 eponymous debut that saw all four US singles chart at #1. The UK chart positions were disappointing - 9, 37, 38 and 54. The album has sold 15 million copies worldwide, but only 300,000 of those were in the UK.
It's against this backdrop that we revisit that debut album, 25 years after its UK release, and assess how well it has stood the test of time and the legacy it has left.
In the late 80s as a struggling singer/songwriter, the artist we would come to know as Mimi was throwing her demo tape at anyone who worked in the music industry between working crappy jobs. We've all heard the fairy tale... One of those industry bods just happened to be Sony boss Tommy Mottola, who spent the best part of the week trying to track down this "elusive chanteuse" who he was sure could be a star.
The songs on that tape went on to form a big chunk of her debut. The soaring, heartfelt ballads that became Mariah's calling card were all present and correct from the offset, such as on heartbreak anthem "Love Takes Time" and the soaring gospel-drenched lead single, "Vision of Love", which even to this day remains one of music's strongest debuts. Even the slightly more middling material, such as "All In Your Mind", is lifted by Mariah's simultaneously effortless and epic swooping run of ad-libs. No matter how much of a good singer you think you are, you aren't going to be able to follow that.
Mariah has always been keen to push her artistic roots and influences and, even with her debut, she didn't compromise her vision (too much). The album wears its gospel and soul influences proudly. There's the overblown and verbose "There's Got To Be A Way", a socially aware song about overcoming racism that speaks of "regulated bigotry", with an incredible gospel choir and MC's infamous whistle notes on full display.
It's safe to say it is possible to identify when Mariah Carey was made by listening to it, but that isn't to say it sounds dated. However, songs like "Someday", "You Need Me" and "Sent From Up Above" have a definite 80s vibe with tinny sounding drum machines, lots of use of the snare, Casio keyboard and, erm, retro synths.
It seems only right to mention "Prisoner" at this point - the least Mariah Carey song in Mariah Carey's repertoire. It wouldn't be out of place on an early Paula Abdul album and somebody at her record company probably thought it was really cool and current. It was not - even at the time the track had an overwhelming whiff of hairspray and there was probably a video treatment involving back-combing, high pony tails and blue eye shadow. It does, however, start one of our favorite trends - the Mariah Carey self-referencing rap! She'll hone her skills here, and by the time of 2005's "Don't Forget About Us" it will be a thing of majesty. On "Prisoner", this rap is ridiculous - needless to say, it is a highlight of the album.
But then, in the middle of all of this, there's "Vanishing"; a song that stands alone in this collection and probably doesn't have many contemporaries among Mariah's entire back catalogue. It's largely just a piano, Mariah's voice - arguably at its peak - and some backing vocals. Many people regard this as one of the highlights of her entire career, never mind this album. It's soulful, wistful and heartbreakingly honest.
Not only has this album gone on to be the roots that all subsequent Mariah albums and songs can be traced back to (anyone who says they liked Mariah "before she went R&B" has no idea what they're talking about), it has also left a wider legacy that we still feel the impact of today in the music industry.
When young female singers first enter the music industry, they are often asked who their influences are, who they listened to when they were growing up, and who they aspire to be like. Most fall into one of two camps: those who say Madonna and those who say Mariah. Invariably this is code for ‘What kind of performer are you?' The answer is simple and binary; you're a pop star or you're a singer.
For better of worse, starting with this album, Mariah Carey has changed the way mainstream female artists perform. The bar has been set incredibly high and to be considered a good vocalist, you have to be able to replicate her vocal trills and melismatic style that became her trademark along with crazy power notes and the ability to go from a deep growl to a mind-boggling Bb7 seemingly within the blink of an eye.
Young girls were growing up hearing what Mariah could do and trying to recreate it in their bedrooms. Those young girls were to become the women that would follow Mariah into the music industry and without her, it's hard to imagine a world without Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Beyonce or Leona Lewis. Indeed, Beyonce has credited "Vision of Love" as being the song that encouraged her to practice her vocal runs as a child.
Although it is good to raise the bar and push the public to expect better and artists to deliver more, this has led to a plethora of artists over-singing and adding vocal runs and gymnastics where they aren't needed and do nothing to enhance the song. Sadly, this has led people to the conclusion that Mariah is guilty of the same. However, Mariah is the master and those who have tried to follow in her footsteps are merely her students. We do not judge the abilities of a teacher by the achievements of their students - and let's face it, we're all just as guilty of wailing along to "Vision of Love" after one too many glasses of fizz.
It's not just at her top end that Mariah's influence can be felt either. Her debut album showcases her more sultry side too. On "I Don't Wanna Cry", Mariah is breathy and deep, up close to the mic and it feels intimate - a style that has been often imitated, but rarely duplicated.
Beyond her vocals, this album has a greater legacy that goes beyond your power house vocalist wannabes. Without Mariah Carey the musical output of a generation or two of many female artists would be wildly different.
Mariah arrived at a time when race was an even greater issue in society at large and within music, and she stealthily took what would have been regarded as "black music" and got mainstream America buying it. She may have done it by watering it down slightly (there are no rappers on here and the gospel touches are used sparingly), but even if it didn't fling the door wide open, it was now slightly ajar.
This has been built on considerably ever since: Mariah's output became progressively more urban with each release and others did the same, including Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston. Without this gradual foray into the living rooms of white middle-America it's unlikely that many artists such as Mary J. Blige would have achieved the cross-over success they did so quickly.
Although this album and its singles wouldn't set the charts on fire now, the ripples of its after effects are still being felt with every subsequent release from Rihanna and Ariana Grande to Jennifer Hudson and even Iggy Azalea.
(So So Gay)
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